Otter is caught on camera at Capital shopping centre

Staff monitoring CCTV cameras spotted the rare mammal in the early hours of the morning, just a couple of hours before shoppers started arriving.

Centre manager Jim Riddell said: "Our security team couldn't believe their eyes when their regular CCTV camera sweep of the centre showed an animal rolling about in the grass and water next to the Braid Burn Watercourse.

"It looked very much like an otter to us but we decided that an expert opinion was required so we contacted The Wildlife Information Centre who confirmed that it was indeed an otter, engaging in normal otter behaviour of rolling, marking and swimming.

"We haven't seen the otter again since, but staff have started calling it Cammy, after Cameron Toll!"

Dr Claire Pannell, manager of The Wildlife Information Centre (TWIC), the biological records centre for Lothian and Borders, said: "Otters by their nature are reclusive and shy away from humans and so to see one in the centre of Edinburgh is not just rare but extremely exciting.

"There have been a few sightings of this charismatic mammal in populated areas over recent years that supports the theory that water quality in towns is improving and enhancing the habitat."

Otters are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and Conservation Regulations, and are also listed as globally threatened.

Dr Pannell added: "TWIC seeks to hold as comprehensive a record of the wildlife of the area as possible and we use this species information to assist researchers keeping track of populations and to inform local authority planners, ecological surveyors and conservation bodies.

"We are always keen to hear from anyone about other otter sightings and, in fact, of any other animals and plants."

It's not the first time Cameron Toll has heard the call of the wild. Staff have also spotted barn owls, deer and heron at the centre in recent months.